5 Things You Never Knew You Could do in Whatsapp

Messaging service WhatsApp, which send messages, pictures, videos and even voice recordings over the internet rather than using your mobile network, saves you money and is one of the must-have apps no matter what smartphone you have. 

But you may not be aware of all the clever features it has. Luckily, our experts at the GHI are here to help...

See how much data WhatsApp is using

WhatsApp requires an internet connection to send and receive messages. If you're connected to Wifi then this isn't a problem, but when you're out and about, the app uses your smartphone's mobile data connection. If you're PAYG or on a limited monthly allowance of data, WhatsApp is slowly chomping away at your allowance and it could end up being costly.Head to Settings and then Data Usage followed by Network Usage to see exactly  how much data you've used. Here, you can adjust whether images, voice clips, videos and documents can be downloaded when you have both connections or only via Wifi. If you use WhatsApp to make calls, you can also reduce the amount of data this functions uses by turning on the Low Data Usage option.

Messaging multiple contacts without them knowing

Want to send the same message to multiple people but would rather not create a group chat? Then use the Broadcast Lists function that does exactly this.Tap the Chats Icon and then select Broadcast Lists from the top left-hand corner.  Press New List and then add the contacts you want to send the message too. Press Create and a New Broadcast List will be generated. Type the message you want to send and then press Send. They'll all receive the message but without knowing that anyone else has received it.

Stop pictures and videos being saved to your phone

WhatsApp automatically save photos and videos you've been sent via Whatsapp to your smartphone's memory, but this can take up a lot of space. If you're struggling to accommodate all the media you get sent, go to Settings, Chats and then switch off Save Incoming Media.

Temporarily stop notifications on group chats

Group chats on Whatsapp allow you to talk to several people in one go, they're great for arranging get togethers, discussing present ideas or even keeping up with your friends' lives.However, if there's a lot of messages flying backwards and forwards and you're not near your phone, you could come back to loads of notifications. If you know you're going to be away from your phone, you can mute the notifications for between eight hours and one year. Just tap on the group chat you want to silence, then select the top of the screen where the group name sits and scroll down to the section marked Mute. Tap this and then select from the options displayed. The same also works for chats with individuals.

Remove Blue Tick notifications

The Blue Ticks that appear underneath messages indicate to the sender that you've received and read the message, but if you're chatting with someone who wants an instant reply but you don't have time to do this, you can turn the Blue Tick notifications off to save their feelings. Open the Settings menu and select Account, followed by Privacy, then switch off Read Receipts.

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